Here’s an article about the California Digital Newspaper Collection. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

https://jweekly.com/2025/04/23/our-digital-archive-could-disappear-because-of-state-budget-cuts/

Why should we care?

As genealogists, we know that newspapers are a vital link in the historical research that we do. Even if you are not from California, your state almost assuredly provides a digital historical newspaper service. Under the current U.S. economic conditions, any of the digital newspaper collections could be stopped because most of them are supported by grants to major libraries which maintain the collections. (In Virginia, the collection is VirginiaChronicle.com maintained by the Library of Virginia.) The best thing is that the collections are available to the public at no charge to the researcher.

What can you do about it?

1. Support your libraries!
2. Assist with donations.
3. Write to your state and federal legislators encouraging them to continue to support libraries and the products libraries offer to us, the public.
4. Make noise.

Finally, I’m going to add an excerpt from a memo from Brian K. Geiger, the Director of Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research, at University of California, Riverside.

If I don’t raise at least $300,000 by June 30, the end of the fiscal year, we will almost certainly have to cease operations.

I’m writing to ask you to help us save the CDNC. We have created a page to collect donations: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/61710/donations/

Please give if you can. The future of the CDNC depends on it.

Thank you for your support,
Brian—
Director, Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research, UC Riverside